Stove or furnace grate



(No Model.)

0. D. HOWARD. STOVE 0R FURNACE GRATE.

No. 593,539. Patented N'ov. 9,1897.

W/TNESSES /N VENTOR QM BY ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES D. HOWARD, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

STOVE OR FURNACE GRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,539, dated November9, 1897.

Application filed April 5, 1897. Serial No. 630,790. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES D. HOWARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Stove and FurnaceGrates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to grates for stoves and furnaces; and it consistsgenerally in the form of the grate-bars and in structures andcombinations by which the bars are rotated and by which they may beeasily removed for repairs or to be replaced by new bars, as hereinafterdescribed, and particularly set forth in the claims.

The principal objects of the invention are, first, to provide a gratewith bars which shall possess both strength and durability and at thesame time be sufficiently light to efiect a saving in material; second,to so construct the bars that their several sides may be alternatelypresented to the fuel in order that the weight of the fuel may tend tostraighten the bars should they become warped or sagged, and, third, toprovide for the ready removing and replacing of the bars and theirproper rotation. These objects are attained by means of the mechanismillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a planview of my improved grate; Fig. 2, an enlarged view, in side elevation,of one of the bars detached, looking upon the edge of one of its wingsand showing the manner of confining the rear journal end of the bars;Fig. 3, a side View of the inner face of one of the gear-wheels forrotating the bars; Fig. 4, a longitudinal vertical section through thefront of the grate-frame and one of the gear-wheels, showing the mannerof attaching the gear-wheel to the front journal end of the bar; andFig. 5, a transverse section of one of the bars. I

Referring to the several views, the letter A indicates the bars, whichare composed of three serpentine or sinuous wings a, which so merge intoone another along one of their edges as to produce a core a, the surfaceof which, between two adjacent wings, is undulatory or wavy, being theresultant of the form of the wings at the points where they merge. Ofcourse the form of the undulatory or wavy surface of the core may bevaried within certain limits by changing the relation of the edges ofthe convex and concave surface of one Wing to the edges of the convexand concave surfaces of the other wings. The wings are provided withair-supply openings a of a size and position to meet the demands of thestove or furnace in which the grate is used, and the openings of eachwing are preferably made to alternate with those of the other wings, sothat there will not be more than two openings intercommunicating.

The purpose of the described form of bar is to permit the grate to berotated in agitating the fire and in cutting out the ashes and clinkersfrom the lower surface of the bed of the fuel without removing afuel-bearing surface from the fuel, one fuel-bearing surface followinganother without intermission in the rotation of the bars, and also topermit any side of a bar to be presented to the fuel that the weight ofthe fuel may tend to straighten the bar when it has become warped orsagged, and the purpose of the serpentine or sinuous form of the wingsand the corresponding form of the core is to add to the strength andlife of the bar by distributing the strain due to expansion andcontraction equally to all of its parts.

That the bars may be rotated and readily removed and replaced I havedevised a removable frame B, comprising a bearing-bar B, having open-topor half bearings b for the inner or rear journals of the grate-bars anda front bearing-bar B composed, preferably, of two fiat bars b 19 eachhaving a half-bearing 17 in their contiguous edges for the outer orfront journals of the grate-bars, together with suitable side bars 13 Bconnecting the rear and front bearing-bars. The flat bars I) b havetheir opposing sides inclined, as shown in Fig. 4, both having about thesame inclination from their lower edges outward, butbeing in differenthorizontal and vertical planes, the upper edge of bar 6 being in thesame horizontal plane as the lower edge of the bar 5 and the upper barbeing farther away from the combustion-chamber than the lower bar,providinga vertical space between them substantially equal to the widthof the gear-wheels O C (3 so that said gear-wheels when in their normalposition are held against lateral movement by said bars.

The front or outer journals of the gratebars are provided with anirregular surface a preferably a collar with a laterally-extendingprojection, which coacts with the outer surface of bar I) to preventinward movement of said journals and also coacts with an irregularsurface a on the gear-wheels to prevent rotation of said gear-wheels ontheir journals, but will at the same time allow the journals to bewithdrawn from their respective gear-wheels.

The gear-wheels are adapted to intermesh with one another, so as torotate alternate grate-bars in opposite directions, and the end of oneof the journals is extended and squared to receive a suitableoperating-crank.

By forming the half-bearings in the upper and lower edges of the bars 1219 respectively, I provide a closed bearing for the front journals ofthe grate-bars, and by the arrangement hereinbefore described I amenabled to readily disconnect the said bars from the gear-wheels andremove them from the grateframe.

The rear bearing-bar B rests beneath the fire-pot, as shown at D,preventing the vertical movement of the rear journals when thegrate-frame is in its working position. By this construction the gratebars are held against expansion in the direction of their frontjournals, but have free longitudinal movement in their rear bearings,thereby preventing their buckling; and when it is desired to remove oneor more of them for any reason it is only necessary to remove thegrate-frame and then raise the rear journals until the collar and theprojection a clears the lower bearing-bar, when the front journals canbe easily withdrawn from the gearwheels, the inclined disposition of thebars I) b allowing the gear-wheels to be inclined for this purpose.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the specificconstruction herein disclosed, but claim the right of protection of allmechanical equivalents thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A grate-bar substantially triangular in cross-section and comprisingthree serpentine or sinuous wings merging into one another along one oftheir edges, producing a core having an undulatory or wavy surfacebetween the wings.

2. A grate-bar substantially triangular in cross-section and comprisingthree serpentine or sinuous wings suitably perforated, said wingsmerging into one another along one of their edges, producing an undulatory or wavy core.

3. A grate consisting of a suitable frame, a series of grate-barsjournaled in half-bearings formed therein, said bars substantiallytriangular in cross-section and comprising three serpentine or sinuousWings merging into one another along one of their edges, producing anundulatory or wavy core, in combination with the fire-pot which projectsover the rear journals to hold them in their bearing in the rearbearing-bar.

4. In a removable grate-frame, the combination of a rear bearing-bar, afront bearingbar consisting of two inclined faced bars withcooperatingbearings, said bars disposed one above the other and out ofalinement with each other, gear-wheels situated between said bars andhaving an irregular surface adapted to cooperate with the bearing 1) andwith the irregular surface on said gear-wheels, said bars being adaptedto be withdrawn from the gear-wheels when their rear ends are raised.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

CHARLES D. HOWARD.

\Vitnesses:

F. B. Moons, J. H. NORTON.

